ARTICLES ABOUT FOOD COURT BY DATE - PAGE 3

A descending Santa could have used the rescue of some flying reindeer when his fluffly beard got caught in rappelling equipment at a Palm Beach Gardens mall. WPEC-Ch. 12 reports that in an effort to thrill the children about Santa's arrival, the idea was to have the jolly one rappel from a glass ceiling near the food court at the Gardens Mall on Saturday. However, Santa got stuck almost immediately after he began his descent from a catwalk. The full story can be accessed at www.cbs12.com .

Varsity quarterback A.J. Puente walked from the football practice field on Tuesday over to a remodeled Atlantic High cafeteria with more appealing menus, better seating and four flat-screen TVs. "It's really nice and laid back," said Puente, 17, ready to begin his junior year when classes start next week. "The food's really good. We're trying every station. " Recognizing that students have little taste for plain old school lunchrooms, the Palm Beach County School District picked Atlantic High to test whether these discriminating diners will dash toward meals served from a food court-style setting.

The food court at Town Center of Boca Raton is getting a total makeover and several new tenants, including a tony Tory Burch boutique, are moving into the mall. Soma Intimates, a division of Chico's that sells lingerie and sleepwear, opened in May in the former Talbots Petites store. Anne Fontaine, a French luxury brand has opened, and Tommy Bahama is posting a fall opening. Customers of Ann Taylor will notice a new concept and redesign, the company confirmed. The bevy of new retail, despite the economy, is partly because some 10-year leases were up, explained general manager Joe Cilia.

The Town Center at Boca Raton has begun a redesign and makeover of its food court area. The popular dining area will be rebranded as "The Cafes at Boca" and will sport new restaurants and a contemporary design when the renovation is completed in October, according to a mall statement Tuesday. The food court's fabric roof structure will be replaced with a sloping architecture featuring windows that filter in more natural light. New porcelain tiles, reupholstered seating and updated bathrooms are among the other planned upgrades.

Atlantic High and school district food managers are cooking up a plan to get students more excited about buying lunches on the Delray Beach campus. It's a $285,000 reinvention of the cafeteria, to open in August, that is designed to blend the feel of an upscale mall food court with the nutritional needs of growing bodies. Students craving a Mandarin chicken salad can stop by the "Asian Experience. " Cheese quesadillas are on the menu at "Café Sol y Mar. " Penne pasta is available at "Mangia Mangia.

Teachers will take to three of Palm Beach County 's malls this weekend to show the public how hard their job really is — and how much schoolwork they do on their own time. The Classroom Teachers Association union that represents the district's roughly 12,000 teachers, will host a "Grade In Marathon" at the Boynton Beach Mall, the Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens and the Mall at Wellington Green on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. Teachers will sit in the food court wearing red shirts, and they will grade papers.

Downtown Countdown. The family-friendly celebration includes inflatables, face painting, a DJ, music, games, contests and line dancing. For the grown-ups, there will be live local bands, a car exhibition, outdoor lounge, biergarten, food court, vendors and fireworks. Catch the countdown from 3 p.m.-3 a.m. on Southwest Second Street between Second and Fifth avenues, Fort Lauderdale. Free admission; 954-828-5363

Downtown Fort Lauderdale will ring in the New Year on Friday with a free 12-hour festival that begins at 3 p.m. and includes a New Year's Eve Downtown Countdown Ball and fireworks. City officials are expecting more than 100,000 to attend the "Fort Lauderdale Orange Bowl Downtown Countdown," presented byFord Motor Co. The festival will be held along Southwest Second Street between Southwest Second Avenue and Southwest Fifth Avenue. Family activities from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. include an early ball lighting and countdown at 7 p.m. for kids, face painting, games, bounce houses and dancing . The event includes live music starting at 7:30 p.m., a Ford Car Exhibition in Esplanade Park and food court.

Opa! Be Greek for a day and indulge in traditional Greek fare during the four-day "Celebrating 28 Years of Opa!" festival Thursday through Sunday at St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church in Boca Raton. The festival will be open from 4 to 10 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday at the church, 2100 NW 51st St. There will be a food court and a Greek taverna staffed by students of the Culinary Academy of West Boca Raton High that will be offering dishes such as Greek rotisserie lamb, moussaka, gyros and chicken or pork souvlaki.

Posted by Scott Travis on December 14, 2009 04:21 PM, December 14, 2009

Students and employees at Florida Atlantic University will soon have fewer places to light up. Starting Jan. 2, the university, which has allowed smoking just about anywhere outdoors on its main Boca Raton campus, is identifying about 20 smoking areas around campus. The busy Breezeway is not one of them. That means no more smoking at the tables outside Starbucks or in the food court. There will be designated spots outside the university?s main dining hall at the Student Union. Within a year, the hope is that the university will be entirely smoke free, which has already happened at more than 500 universities nationwide, said Rosemary Dunbar, director of the university?